Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Quote Of The Day: Caught In The Mitt Edition

"I love vetoes."-- Mitt Romney

Mitt was interviewed in OC yesterday by Jon Fleishman of FlashReport when he started an answer about excessive federal spending with that quote. Here's the full context:

Jon: [W]e saw President Bush and our former GOP-controlled Congress with a pretty bad record on fiscal restraint with federal spending increasing 41 percent over the last six years. That's according to the Heritage Foundation. What would you do as President to reduce federal spending, because that's been a big frustration for base Republicans has been the growth in spending?

Mitt: I have called for all candidates to sign or to adopt my own spending pledge and that is I will lay out to Congress the following: Discretionary, non-military spending may not grow faster than inflation less one percent. And if they give me appropriations bills which exceed that amount, I will veto them.

Jon: Well, that's pretty straightforward there. That's good to hear because, you know, this President hasn't used his veto pen very much.

Mitt: I love vetoes. Of course, I had the line item veto. I have vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars of spending which I thought was unnecessary or where earmarks were employed. And think we need to see more vetoing in Washington.

So do I. Bush is finally threatening vetoes of some of the abominable legislation being moved by Dems, including at the forefront the pork-ridden, defeat-assuring Iraq funding bill, but he should have started vetoing seven years ago. I like Mitt's talk on this one.

I also liked Romney's answer (at least partially) on immigration: Register every last one of the 12 million, so we know who they are and what they're doing. Once we know what we're dealing with with they 12 million illegals, we can take action, he says.

That's a good start, but he needs to shore up the back end of his plan quite a bit before he'll be seen as sufficiently tough on immigration. Like: After the cut-off date, no ID means jail until you're put on the bus home. Criminal record, you're put in jail until you're put on the bus.

And everyone else? The hardworking "honest" (except for their fundamental illegality) illegals? What about them, Mitt?

"Thank you for the "Voice of the Victims films. The students really liked them, and it means so much to them to hear real stories and not watch a cheesy drama like so many other videos."
— High school teacher.